Where is CENTER?

[CurvedCue]

The more I read the more confused I get. :frown:

Here are two ideas of how to hit the exact center of CB that I came across (I've capped for emphasis):

Remember that center ball is actually 1/16 of a tip BELOW center. Below center allows for the curve of the tip.

But Ted Brown says in order to hit center you have to:

Place your cue tip's top edge one-sixteenth of an inch ABOVE center.

So which is it? Below, above, underground?

 

[ENGLISH!]

The more I read the more confused I get. :frown:

Here are two ideas of how to hit the exact center of CB that I came across (I've capped for emphasis):

Remember that center ball is actually 1/16 of a tip BELOW center. Below center allows for the curve of the tip.

But Ted Brown says in order to hit center you have to:

Place your cue tip's top edge one-sixteenth of an inch ABOVE center.

So which is it? Below, above, underground?

Depends on the angle of the cue.

But...I never try to hit the center, especially the one to which you are referring.

Any bit of off in any direction puts something in play for which I did not plan. I have almost no, if any, experience in a true center hit & hence would not know how to control the Cue Ball with it.

Reality & the perception of reality are not always the same thing.

Best Wishes,
Rick

 

[336Robin]

The more I read the more confused I get. :frown:

Here are two ideas of how to hit the exact center of CB that I came across (I've capped for emphasis):

Remember that center ball is actually 1/16 of a tip BELOW center. Below center allows for the curve of the tip.

But Ted Brown says in order to hit center you have to:

Place your cue tip's top edge one-sixteenth of an inch ABOVE center.

So which is it? Below, above, underground?

Curved Cue,
Well I think the best way to know if you're hitting center or not is to slow stun some shots. If the cue ball moves after the slow stun sideways any at all then you need to adjust. Your stroke and someone else's are going to be different so the starting point of what ends up giving them center of the ball at the time of the stroke and yours are likely not going to be the same. That's why I like lining up looking at the object ball and seeing what kind of results I'm getting.

By the way for me since I'm left eyed I tend to line up a touch farther on the left side of the ball but routinely deliver correctly as long as my stance is correct. Somewhere after I focus on the object ball entirely my stroke straightens up and most of the time I deliver ok, I can tell a world of difference when I play One Pocket, every little move matters and I have to watch myself when I slow stun a ball to make sure I do right. If I don't the ball does something weird at stun and I might not get the results I wanted.

 

[Pidge]

Finding centre is a wasted journey. I realised that a LONG time ago.

People want to hit centre ball to not add side spin, yes? They want to stun the CB too, so people automatically try to find centre ball. I prefer to hit low, and get the CB sliding upon impact by adjusting the speed of the shot. Hitting a shot slower with draw, known as a drag shot gives you much more margain for error. I see people hitting 6ft stop shots using centre ball on dead straight shots, and the CB drifts off either side because they had to hit the CB so damn hard to ensure it was sliding at impact.

I much prefer the snooker analogy of centre ball; plain ball. It simply means hitting the CB with no side spin so the CB could either be sliding at impact, or have natural roll by the time impact occurs.
Centre ball + cue elevation variances which we all have for every single shot = lots of different outcomes on the CB.

 

[ENGLISH!]

Finding centre is a wasted journey. I realised that a LONG time ago.

People want to hit centre ball to not add side spin, yes? They want to stun the CB too, so people automatically try to find centre ball. I prefer to hit low, and get the CB sliding upon impact by adjusting the speed of the shot. Hitting a shot slower with draw, known as a drag shot gives you much more margain for error. I see people hitting 6ft stop shots using centre ball on dead straight shots, and the CB drifts off either side because they had to hit the CB so damn hard to ensure it was sliding at impact.

I much prefer the snooker analogy of centre ball; plain ball. It simply means hitting the CB with no side spin so the CB could either be sliding at impact, or have natural roll by the time impact occurs.
Centre ball + cue elevation variances which we all have for every single shot = lots of different outcomes on the CB.

Tap Tap

I agree. Well Said.

Best,
Rick

 

[mohrt]

Here is an easy test to see if you are hitting center cue ball (no side-spin)

Setup a stripe ball on the head spot, align the stripes horizontally. Shoot lag shot, see if you can hit the ball so there is absolutely no wobble on the stripe of the ball, and the ball comes back and hits your cue tip dead center. If you can do that, you are hitting pretty much center cue ball and dead stroke.

 

[CJ Wiley]

I recommend using a "Touch" of right when cutting balls to the right

The more I read the more confused I get. :frown:

Here are two ideas of how to hit the exact center of CB that I came across (I've capped for emphasis):

Remember that center ball is actually 1/16 of a tip BELOW center. Below center allows for the curve of the tip.

But Ted Brown says in order to hit center you have to:

Place your cue tip's top edge one-sixteenth of an inch ABOVE center.

So which is it? Below, above, underground?

From years of competitive experience I discovered that it's best to favor one side of the cue ball. This takes away from this fruitless pursuit of "playing center ball".....not only is it extremely difficult to locate, it's even more challenging to contact consistently.

The good news is you can play better for many reasons by NOT using center (except when shooting straight in shots and slow rolling shots). Just line in most other sports you don't need to hit the ball or throw the ball straight without a curve or deflection. You can plainly see this in tennis shots, golf shots, baseball pitches, and basketball shots.

I recommend using a "Touch" of right when cutting balls to the right and a touch of left when cutting balls to the left. For more on this subject www.cjwiley.com has free info and video suggestions.

 

[Neil]

From years of competitive experience I discovered that it's best to favor one side of the cue ball. This takes away from this fruitless pursuit of "playing center ball".....not only is it extremely difficult to locate, it's even more challenging to contact consistently.

The good news is you can play better for many reasons by NOT using center (except when shooting straight in shots and slow rolling shots). Just line in most other sports you don't need to hit the ball or throw the ball straight without a curve or deflection. You can plainly see this in tennis shots, golf shots, baseball pitches, and basketball shots.

I recommend using a "Touch" of right when cutting balls to the right and a touch of left when cutting balls to the left. For more on this subject www.cjwiley.com has free info and video suggestions.

Being an "instructor", it would have been nice if you actually answered his question instead of putting out another sales pitch for your "system".

CurvedCue- You have been fed some bad information. You can guarantee that if you are hitting with the edge of the tip, you are not hitting center ball. Hitting center ball CAN have several meanings. It can mean just hitting on the vertical center axis, or it can mean actually hitting the vertical and horizontal center of the cb. I believe you are referring to the latter definition.

The easiest way to describe it is to picture a pit at the exact inside center of the cb. Hitting center cb then means that if your cue tip were to pierce the cb, it would hit that pit. The only way that can happen is with the center of the tip. Doesn't matter if you hit above center or parallel to the table bed, the center of the tip would be lined up to hit the core of the cb. That is center. Whether or not you hit halfway up the cb from the table bed or above that mark depends on what angle you have your cue on.

Now, if you are referring to the center axis or vertical axis of the cb, then any hit below half way up from the table bed will be with the upper part of the tip, and any hit above the halfway up from the table bed will be with the lower part of the tip. There is no other choice unless you masse' the cb. Then the upper part of the tip will hit the cb and never the lower part of the tip.

The only way to hit the lower horizontal half of the cb with anything other than the upper part of the tip is to place the cb on a pocket edge, have web pockets, and shoot up through the webbing at the cb. Then, if you get steep enough angle going up, you can hit with the center of the tip.

 

[CJ Wiley]

That's a good one, and I also like the "Push Drill"

Here is an easy test to see if you are hitting center cue ball (no side-spin)

Setup a stripe ball on the head spot, align the stripes horizontally. Shoot lag shot, see if you can hit the ball so there is absolutely no wobble on the stripe of the ball, and the ball comes back and hits your cue tip dead center. If you can do that, you are hitting pretty much center cue ball and dead stroke.

That's a good one, and I also like the "Push Drill" that One Pocket John guided me to.

Just get down in your regular cue ball address position, extend your tip to the ball and push it in with all follow through.....this gives you a great feeling for how square you are contacting the cue ball. As far as finding "center".....that's still tough to do on the vertical axis, this is more for finding the horizontal center.

 

[rubell]

Here is an easy test to see if you are hitting center cue ball (no side-spin)

Setup a stripe ball on the head spot, align the stripes horizontally. Shoot lag shot, see if you can hit the ball so there is absolutely no wobble on the stripe of the ball, and the ball comes back and hits your cue tip dead center. If you can do that, you are hitting pretty much center cue ball and dead stroke.

I also practice a straight stan shot across the table after which the cue ball stops immediately dead after the impact without sidewise rotation. That's a really touch one too as sometimes, even if it stops immediately, it rotates around 1/5 - 1/6 of full turn, which means my shot was not exact.

This is to align center horizontally, of course.

 

[CJ Wiley]

hitting the "No Spin" shot suffices.

Finding centre is a wasted journey. I realised that a LONG time ago.

People want to hit centre ball to not add side spin, yes? They want to stun the CB too, so people automatically try to find centre ball. I prefer to hit low, and get the CB sliding upon impact by adjusting the speed of the shot. Hitting a shot slower with draw, known as a drag shot gives you much more margain for error. I see people hitting 6ft stop shots using centre ball on dead straight shots, and the CB drifts off either side because they had to hit the CB so damn hard to ensure it was sliding at impact.

I much prefer the snooker analogy of centre ball; plain ball. It simply means hitting the CB with no side spin so the CB could either be sliding at impact, or have natural roll by the time impact occurs.
Centre ball + cue elevation variances which we all have for every single shot = lots of different outcomes on the CB.

Yes, hitting the "No Spin" shot suffices, and I like to create this effect after contact as well.

Cue elevation does make a difference, and something players need to be more aware of in general. It's best to have a system to calculate this BEFORE getting down on the shot in your pre shot routine.

 

[rubell]

The more I read the more confused I get. :frown:

Here are two ideas of how to hit the exact center of CB that I came across (I've capped for emphasis):

Remember that center ball is actually 1/16 of a tip BELOW center. Below center allows for the curve of the tip.

But Ted Brown says in order to hit center you have to:

Place your cue tip's top edge one-sixteenth of an inch ABOVE center.

So which is it? Below, above, underground?

For vertical alignment you can try what helped me.

Try to practice a draw shot. When I did it the first time, I hit the ball really hard and the draw shot did not work. Then I realized I hit it really hard, so I reduced the speed and at some point it started working, the cue ball could go back if I want to. Then I started reducing the strength of my shot even more, and at some point it stopped working again.

So, I increased the strength again and found a sweet spot where it works well. When I was doing it I paid an attention to how each shot feels. Then I changed the cue position to be lower than the center, at the center, above the center and tried to feel what kind of push works the best for my ability to control the cue ball if I want to draw, follow or stop. After that I applied the same feel for cut shots too.

My understanding, an ability to control the cue ball and being able to draw, stop or follow is much more important than to be able to hit exactly at the center or certain number of tips from it when we talk about vertical alignment. I am trying to think of it as a behavior pivot area, when the cue ball behavior changes depending where the ball is hit. When hitting the cue ball with a certain speed below the area will make the cue ball go back, stop if it is within the area and follow if it is above it. Somehow the stroke itself affects the cue ball behavior a lot.